The conversation about the infamous Oscar Slap involving Chris Rock and Will Smith continues. Smith assaulted Rock on stage after the Emmy winner made fun of Jada Pinket Smith’s bald head from alopecia areata.
That incident from the 94th Academy Awards received even more attention recently following the debut of Chris Rock’s Selective Outrage comedy special on Netflix. Rock used the show to finally publicly address Will Smith hitting him in the face at the 2022 Oscar ceremony.
Some Selective Outrage viewers praised Chris Rock for responding to the Oscar Slap through stand-up comedy. Critics, such as The Root Senior Writer Candace McDuffie, took issue with the comedian referring to Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, as a b####.
“He spilled some tea but guess what: he focused strictly on a Black woman for all of his problems: Jada! He’s always focused on Black women in his comedy and his b####-laden live sketch was straight up mean and no different,” wrote McDuffie in an article titled Chris Rock Still Deserved to Be Slapped by Will Smith.
The 50 Rappers Who Changed the World author also wrote, “Antagonizing Black women has always been part of Rock’s approach to comedy and TikTok users have continuously pointed that out. Some even stated Rock had that hit coming.”
D.L. Hughley: It’s Ironic To Justify The Oscar Slap & Complain About Chris Rock’s Routine
TMZ spoke to fellow comedian D.L. Hughley about Chris Rock’s Selective Outrage and Candace McDuffie’s op-ed for The Root. The host of The D.L. Hughley Show radio program defended Rock against the backlash for his jokes.
“If you thought the slap was justified and you think the comedy was too far, I think that’s ironic,” said D.L. Hughley. “I think that it’s ironic that you think one response to a joke was violence and that’s justified.”
Hughley added, “Here’s the problem. [Rock] talked about one Black woman. There are millions of them… I don’t know how you extrapolate that to his perspective about every single Black woman. That’s kind of a non-starter for me.”
Chris Rock also caught heat for a Selective Outrage bit about the late Michael Jackson. 3T singer/MJ’s nephew, Taj Jackson, blasted Rock for comparing his uncle to convicted child pornographer R. Kelly. Michael Jackson was acquitted of child molestation charges in 2005.